Water gate



Patented A r. 12, 1927.

' PAT am KARL F. LILJEe-R'En, or Donna, TEXAS.

WATER GATE.

Application-filed August 18; 1924. Seria1 Nb..732-,771.

This-invention relates to water gates for 11863111 irrigation'systemsand has for one of its ob ects the provision of a means to enablereciprocable water gates or such as are-mov- 5 able back-- and forth inthe plane thereof to be tightly closed regardless of trash, such as 1sticks and weeds, which may have accumulated -while suehgates' were 1nopen position.

A; further obj eet'of the invention is to prol0 vide means for effectingwater tight seals between the gates and their guideswhile at the sametime rendering it easy'to operate the gates. V A further object of theinvention is to provide improved lifting-devices for such gates.According to one form of the-invention the-gate is formed of a metalplate guided for movement preferably: in a vertical-plane and having asharpened lower edge to cooperate witha'choppingblock in thevgate framein cutting trash which accumulate beneath the gate. The chopping blockmaybe of wood or other suitablematerial into'whi'ch the sharp edge ofthe gate may be pressed or poundedtocut through the trash collectedbeneatlrthe gate' and shut off the water completely. The feature of thesharp lower edge of the gate cutting; into the sill is of very greatimportance in that it assures a close seal at-*the'lower edge of thegate and not a seal b'y mere contact as is usually the case. Theseal:thus formed may be called a cutting seal or an embedding seal. y p 7'llhe sealing of the'gate at its edges may be effected byheavyduokbelting folded longitudinally and pressed or sprung into position inguide grooves in the frame, the edges of the gate being received in thefolds of the belting which may be" lubricated or water- 4 proofed asrequired. Preferably some heavy lubricant is supplied between the edgesof the gate and the base of the fold in the belting, not only to providesuitable lubrlcatlon but also to assist in effecting a water tight seal.Such sealingmay also be effected by means of a suitable heavy lubricantwithout use of the belting.

The 'gate lifting device may comprise a lever and a bar attached tothe'gate and extending upwardly at the inner face thereof, the barhaving openings into which the end of the lever" may be inserted.

Other features and objects will hereinafter appear.

,pendicular to-that of'Fig. -1;

tratinganother form of edge seal.

I Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section across the frame, ofthegate; Y

Fig. 2 is a vertical section in-aplane per- Fig.3 is a horizontalsection showing th manner of sealing the gate its-lateral edges; and a JFig. lis a view similar to-Figw3 but -illus- Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and3 agate 10, in the form of a metal plate, 'is gu-ided for verticalmovement in groovesll in a gate frame 12 of suitable material such asconcrete; The edges of the gate do not engage the frame directly butenter the folds in longitudinally folded strips 13 of heavy duck beltingforced into said grooves 11. For waterproofing-use is made of a heavygrease seal l l'in-thefold of each of the strips of belting. This greasealso serves as a. lubricant to make the gate move more easily, y

Gates heretofore in use were frequently preventedfromeifectivecl'osingat the bottorn by means of accumulations of trashbe neath the gates. The gate 10' is, however, provided wth a beveledlower edge,-so sharp that in connection with a wooden chopping blockersill15 at the bottom of the frame,

trash accumulated, beneaththe gate maybe cutthrough by pressing orpounding the gate down against the chopping block. In this manner atight'clos'ing at the bottom of the gate will be obtained. As indicatedin Fig; 1, the chopping bloclif or sill '15. may be I made up ofa'number of blocks or sections:

For controlling the position of the gate 10, provision is made by astrip or bar 16 having one "end secured by suitable means,

such as rivets, to the upper edge of the gate and extending upwardly fora short distance and then rearwardly and downwardly parallel to thegate. The downward extension of the bar 16 has a reverse curve at itslower end to hold the bar away from the gate, and said lower end issecured to the gate 10 by suitable means such as rivets. Extendingthrough the bend at the upper end of thebar 16 and secured to theforward -of the two parallel portions'thereof is a.

cross bar or handle 17 for use in lifting the gate when it workscomparatively easily as in the case of a small gate.

For use. when additional power is required to lift the gate provision ismade of a channel bar 18 extending across the gate opening. and anchoredto the frame, and a vertical fulcrum standard 19 attached to the bar 18and having openings 20 through which a lever 21 may be thrust to projectinto any one of a series of openings 22 in the rear portion'of the bar16. Projecting forwardly from the lower end of the standard 19 is aflange 23 in the path of a stop 24 projecting from the lower end of thebar 16, the flange 23 and stop 24 serving to limit the upward movementof the gate. Then the gate has been lifted, as, for example, by thelever 21, further lifting may be effected by holding the gate bypressing a pin or lever through one of the openings 22 and resting it onany convenient object as the standard 19 or the bar 18, and chang ingthe position of the lever 21 by passing it through another opening 22 totake a fresh start.

According to another form of the invention shown in Fig. 4-, the beltingin the grooves is omitted and the closed end of each groove is providedwith an offset portion to hold a heavy water proofing grease seal 25from which portions of the grease work into thespaces between the gate10 and walls of the slots. This forms an effective seal and permits easyshifting of the gate 10.

Although, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, thecutting of trash is effected by a gate in the form of a metal plate witha sharpened lower edge and a sill or block of wood, it should be 7understood that other arrangements may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. For example, it is immaterial whether anyportion of the gate except its lower edge is of metal or whether thesill 15 1s of wood or of other material which is Having thus describedmy invention, I claim:

- 1. The combination with an upwardly and downwardly movable water gate,of a frame having side walls by which the gate is guided in suchmovement and a sill to coact with the lower edge of said gate, one ofsuch coacting parts having a sharp knife-like coacting part and theother of such parts being of softer material than the knife-like partand serving as a chopping block against which trash may be cut and intowhich the sharp knife-like part may be forced to effect a tightembedding closure at the bottom of the gate.

2. The combination with a reciprocable water gate having a sharp loweredge,'of a frame having at its sides means for guiding the gate and atthe bottom thereof a chopping block, of softer material than the sharpedge of the gate, against which trash may be cut and into which saidsharp edge may be forced to efiect a tight embedding closure at thebottom of the gate.

3. The combination with a reciprocable water gate, of a frame having atits bottom a sill with which the lower edge of the gate coacts to effecta close seal and side walls with grooves for guiding the edges of thegate, and longitudinally folded strips of heavy flexible material forcedinto said grooves and receiving in the folds thereof the edges of saidgate.

4. The combination with a reciprocable water gate, of a frame having atits bottom a sill with which the lower edge of the gate coacts to effecta close seal and side walls with grooves for guiding the edges of thegate, longitudinally folded strips of heavy flexible material forcedinto said grooves and receiving in the folds thereof the edges of saidgate and heavy lubricant in the folds of said strips to assist insealing the side edges of the gate.

In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

KARL F. LILJEGREN.

